Hail has developed into a modern agricultural,
industrial and commercial center in north-central Saudi Arabia.

To the eyes of the desert traveler, whether he
was part of a caravan in ancient times or is driving a vehicle along
today's modern highways, the city of Hail is a welcome sight. In sharp
contrast to the beige and sand colors of its surroundings, the main color
of Hail is green, in the form of vast date palm groves, wheat fields and
vegetable gardens that carpet the broad valley floor.

Since ancient times, Hail has been a magnet attracting people from all
points of the compass. Rock carvings and petroglyphs provide evidence of
human habitation here stretching back more than 18,000 years. What has
brought so many people to Hail is water.

Situated at the southern fringes of the great Nafud Desert, one of the
most inhospitable places on earth, the Hail valley is surrounded by the
Jabal Shammar mountain range. Water from the massif collects on the
granite floor of the valley under a layer of soil with the result that
trees, particularly those that run deep roots, can collect the moisture.

These aquifers also made agriculture possible. Artifacts indicate the
presence of permanent settlements of farmers in the Hail valley more than
three thousand years ago. The first- century AD Roman geographer Ptolomy
refers to Hail, though by its pre-Islamic names of Arre Kome or Aine. Over
the centuries, the inhabitants dug a network of wells to provide drinking
water, as well as to feed vast irrigation canals that sustain extensive
date palms and grain fields.

With the advent of Islam in the seventh century AD, the Arabian
Peninsula attained a greater importance on the world stage. The spiritual
heart of a vast Islamic empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean in
the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west was the city of Makkah, the
site of the Holy Mosque and the Ka'abah at its center toward which all
Muslims face to pray. As this empire prospered, more and more Muslims
began making the pilgrimage to the Holy City.

Agricultural goods produced in Hail's extensive
orchards and farms are distributed throughout Saudi Arabia and
exported abroad.

Located along the famous Darb Zubaydah caravan route that brought
pilgrim caravans from Mesopotamia, Persia and Central Asia to Makkah and
Madinah, the city of Hail became a strategic stopping point. Built 12
centuries ago and named after the wife of the Abbasid Caliph Harun
Al-Rashid, the caravan route included hundreds of wells and cisterns,
remnants of which are still visible in Hail. The valley's importance was
further enhanced by its position astride the commercial caravan trail
running from the Arabian Gulf ports to Damascus. As a consequence, Hail
prospered by provisioning these caravans. The Arab traveler Ibn Batuta
took note of the valley's souq (market), where tradesmen from abroad as
well as townspeople bought and sold goods.

Historical references to the city increased with the advent of the first
Saudi Kingdom in the 18th century. Travelers passing through Hail to visit
Riyadh, the seat of the Saudi Kingdom to the southeast, described a
settlement little changed over the centuries. A small number of mud-brick
dwellings huddled around a large fort surrounded by orchards and farms.
These writings show that Hail was unable to truly prosper due to the
depredation of marauding robber bands that preyed on the town and the
caravans that passed through it.

In 1932, Hail entered a new chapter in its history. After unifying the
fractious tribes of the Arabian Peninsula and subsequent founding of the
modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that year, King Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman
Al-Saud moved swiftly to end the instability that prevailed in much of the
peninsula. With travel and commerce made safe, and the introduction of
programs to develop the region, Hail soon began to blossom as it had never
done before.

While preserving its old forts and historic structures, as well as its
traditions and heritage, Hail has rapidly moved into the modern era. It is
now a thriving center of agriculture, industry and commerce, one which its
inhabitants of even a hundred years ago could not have imagined.

With the advent of stability and security in the region, the Kingdom
took immediate steps to establish an infrastructure capable of bringing
about the city's rapid development. A network of highways was built to
connect the city to other major urban and commercial centers. A modern
airport was built outside the city. These transportation facilities are no
longer used as a conduit for pilgrims, but to integrate the city with the
rest of the country to facilitate commerce and development.

Lacking any formal schools at the time of the unification of Saudi
Arabia, Hail saw its first primary school set up in 1937. That was
followed by the establishment of a modern educational system that now
includes hundreds of kindergarten, primary, intermediate and secondary
schools. There are now two colleges and several vocational training
institutes in Hail. A new college set up by the King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals will accept students in Hail in the coming academic
year.

Similarly, there were no medical facilities in Hail some 60 years ago.
Today, two large modern hospitals offer state-of-the-art services. These
are complemented by more than 80 primary healthcare clinics in the city
and its surrounding villages as well as several hundred dispensaries.

Having provided for the education and physical health of the city's
inhabitants, Saudi Arabia also moved to provide for their recreational and
cultural needs. As it has in other urban centers throughout the Kingdom,
the General Presidency of Youth Welfare built a large modern sports
complex in Hail, with outdoor soccer and track fields and indoor courts
for basketball, volleyball, handball and other sports.

Electric power generation plants were established and lines extended to
all major villages and farms that surround Hail. Modern water distribution
and sewage lines were built and the city was connected to the national
telecommunications system.

With the infrastructure in place, the city rapidly flourished. It now
has a population estimated at 150,000, ten times larger than at any time
before the modern era.

The principal economic activity in Hail remains agriculture. But the
agriculture practiced in Hail today is a far cry from the primitive
practices of the past. At the outset of the introduction of development
plans in 1970, Saudi Arabia took steps to modernize and expand this sector
in Hail. It began by providing billions of dollars in grants and
interest-free loans through the Agricultural Bank to farmers and
entrepreneurs for farming, land reclamation, irrigation, production of
fertilizers and other enterprises that support agriculture.

Like most other cities in Saudi Arabia, Hail has
preserved its traditional architecture while offering modern amenities
(this photo and below).

In 1981, the Hail Company for Agricultural Development was established
as a share company. Granted 86,000 acres of land by the government, the
company soon thrived, increasing output annually and generating more than
two billion Saudi riyals (533.3 million U.S. dollars) in profits, some of
which has been disbursed to shareholders, and the remainder reinvested in
the operation.

To support the exponential growth of agriculture, the government took
similar steps, including the provision of interest-free loans, to
encourage the establishment of peripheral companies that are required to
service this sector. There are now several major private firms that
provide seeds, farm machinery, spare parts, technical support and
fertilizers to farmers.

The availability of all necessary services and facilities has resulted
in the growth of land under cultivation to more than 350,000 acres. More
importantly, Hail's farmers have managed to increase output and diversify
their products. Dates and grains no longer dominate these farms. Today,
Hail exports fruits, including citrus, apples, peaches, grapes and olives,
as well as dates and grains. Also, Hail's farmers, in cooperation with the
Ministry of Agriculture and Water, have managed to develop new strains of
wheat, barley and fruit trees that are better suited to the region's
climate and produce higher-quality products at greater volumes.

To accommodate the growing agricultural output of Hail, the government
has established a vast grain silo and provided incentives for private
companies to build warehouses, refrigerated containers and processing and
packing facilities.

Whereas agriculture has traditionally been the only activity in Hail,
the modern city now has a dynamic industrial and commercial sector. Today,
there are more than 2,000 companies on the roster of the Hail Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. With interest-free long-term loans provided by the
Saudi Industrial Development Fund, private companies and individuals have
established new factories to produce aluminum products, furniture, office
equipment and a variety of construction materials and supplies.

The commercial sector also has grown immensely. Businessmen and
companies are engaged in the transportation and sale of Hail's growing
list of agricultural and industrial goods in other Saudi Arabian cities,
as well as in Arabian Gulf countries and Europe. Also, there now are
several modern shopping centers with more than 2,000 stores that offer all
the consumer goods the residents of Hail need.

Images of Hail's clean and expansive boulevards, its many parks, both in
the city and in the surrounding mountains, numerous playgrounds, historic
buildings and old souq, coupled with its refreshing climate are drawing
large numbers of Saudi families to visit the city, feeding a fledgling
tourism industry.

Like so many other parts of Saudi Arabia, Hail is building on its
traditional strengths while looking for new areas in which to diversify
and prosper.